Saturday morning May 28

Preparation

Opening response

Lord, open our lipsand our mouth will proclaim your praise.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all,to you be glory and praise forever.You founded the earth in the beginningand the heavens are the work of your hands.In the fullness of time you made us in your image,and in these last days you have spoken to usin your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among uslet the light of your love always shine in our hearts,your Spirit ever renew our livesand your praises ever be on our lips.Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.Blessed be God forever.

Hymn

Out of the Iron Furnace, Lord

Charles Wesley

Out of the iron furnace, Lord,To thee for help I cry,I listen to thy warning word,And would from Egypt fly.

Long have I bowed to sin’s command,But now I would be free,Escape from the dire oppressor’s land,And live, O God, to thee.

Confession of sin

Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

Almighty God,patient and of great goodness:I confess to you,I confess with my whole heartmy neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments,my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking;the hurts I have done to others,and the good I have left undone.O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you;and raise me to newness of life;through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

May the God of love and powerforgive us and free us from our sins,heal and strengthen us by his Spirit,and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.Amen.

The Word of God

Psalm 20

Refrain:Some people trust in chariots, others in horses; but we praise the Lord’s name.

I pray that the Lord answers you whenever you are in trouble. Let the name of Jacob’s God protect you.Let God send help to you from the sanctuary and support you from Zion.Let God recall your many grain offerings; let him savor your entirely burned offerings. Let God grant what is in your heart and fulfill all your plans.Then we will rejoice that you’ve been helped. We will fly our flags in the name of our God. Let the Lord fulfill all your requests!Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed one; God answers his anointed one from his heavenly sanctuary, answering with mighty acts of salvation achieved by his strong hand.Some people trust in chariots, others in horses; but we praise the Lord’s name.They will collapse and fall, but we will stand up straight and strong.Lord, save the king! Let him answer us when we cry out!

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:Some people trust in chariots, others in horses; but we praise the Lord’s name.

Psalm prayer

Merciful God,purify our hearts in the flame of your Spiritand transform our toil into an offering of praise,that we may reject the proud rule of mightand trust in Christ alone,for he is our Lord forever and ever.

Psalm 21

Refrain: Be exalted, Lord, in your strength!

The king celebrates your strength, Lord; look how happy he is about your saving help!You’ve given him what his heart desires; you haven’t denied what his lips requested. You bring rich blessings right to him; you put a crown of pure gold on his head.He asked you for life, and you gave it to him, all right— long days, forever and always!The king’s reputation is great because of your saving help; you’ve conferred on him glory and grandeur.You grant him blessings forever; you make him happy with the joy of your presence. Because the king trusts the Lord, and because of the Most High’s faithful love, he will not stumble.Your hand will catch all your enemies; your strong hand will catch all who hate you.When you appear, Lord, you will light them up like an oven on fire. God will eat them whole in his anger; fire will devour them.You will destroy their offspring from the land; destroy their descendants from the human race.Because they sought to do you harm, they devised a wicked plan—but they will fail!Because you will make them turn and run when you aim your bow straight at their faces!Be exalted, Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power!

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain: Be exalted, Lord, in your strength!

Psalm prayer

Crown us, O God, but with humility,and robe us with compassion,that, as you call us into the kingdom of your Son,we may strive to overcome all evilby the power of goodand so walk gently on the earthwith you, our God, forever.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing.He lets me rest in grassy meadows; he leads me to restful waters; he keeps me alive.He guides me in proper paths for the sake of his good name.Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no danger because you are with me.Your rod and your staff— they protect me.You set a table for me right in front of my enemies.You bathe my head in oil; my cup is so full it spills over!Yes, goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the Lord’s house as long as I live.

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Psalm prayer

God, our sovereign and shepherd,who brought again your Son Jesus Christfrom the valley of death,comfort us with your protecting presenceand your angels of goodness and love,that we also may come homeand dwell with him in your house forever.

Old Testament readingJoshua 10:1-15

Jerusalem’s King Adoni-zedek heard that Joshua had captured Ai and had wiped it out as something reserved for God. Joshua did the same thing to Ai and its king that he had done to Jericho and its king. He also heard that the population of Gibeon had made peace with Israel and were living among them. Adoni-zedek and his people were very afraid, because Gibeon was a large city, like one of the royal cities. It was larger than Ai. All its men were soldiers. So Jerusalem’s King Adoni-zedek sent word to Hebron’s King Hoham, Jarmuth’s King Piram, Lachish’s King Japhia, and Eglon’s King Debir: “Come up and help me. We will strike at Gibeon, because it has made peace with Joshua and with the Israelites.” Then the five kings of the Amorites gathered. These were the kings of Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, and Eglon. They went up with all their armies, camped against Gibeon, and attacked it. The people of Gibeon sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Don’t desert your servants! Come to us quickly. Rescue us! Help us! All the Amorite kings from the highlands have assembled together against us.” So Joshua went up from Gilgal with the entire army and all the bravest soldiers.

Then the Lord said to Joshua, “Don’t be afraid of them. I have given them into your power. Not a single one of them can stand up against you.” Joshua quickly attacked them, having come up overnight from Gilgal. Then the Lord threw them into a panic before Israel. Joshua struck a mighty blow against them at Gibeon. He chased them on the way up to Beth-horon and struck them down as far as Azekah and Makkedah. When they were fleeing from Israel and were on the slope of Beth-horon, the Lord threw down large stones from the sky all the way to Azekah. So they died. More died from the hailstones than the Israelites killed with the sword.

On the day the Lord gave the Amorites into the power of Israel, Joshua spoke to the Lord in the presence of the Israelites:

“Sun, stand still at Gibeon! and Moon, at the Aijalon Valley!”The sun stood still and the moon stood motionless until a nation took revenge on its enemies.

Isn’t this written in the Jashar scroll? So the sun stood motionless in the middle of the sky. For a whole day, it was in no hurry to go down. There hasn’t been a day like it before or since, when the Lord responded to a human voice. The Lord fought for Israel. Then Joshua along with all Israel came back to the camp at Gilgal.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament readingLuke 11:37-54

While Jesus was speaking, a Pharisee invited him to share a meal with him, so Jesus went and took his place at the table. When the Pharisee saw that Jesus didn’t ritually purify his hands by washing before the meal, he was astonished.

The Lord said to him, “Now, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and platter, but your insides are stuffed with greed and wickedness. Foolish people! Didn’t the one who made the outside also make the inside? Therefore, give to those in need from the core of who you are and you will be clean all over.

“How terrible for you Pharisees! You give a tenth of your mint, rue, and garden herbs of all kinds, while neglecting justice and love for God. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others.

“How terrible for you Pharisees! You love the most prominent seats in the synagogues and respectful greetings in the marketplaces.

“How terrible for you! You are like unmarked graves, and people walk on them without recognizing it.”

One of the legal experts responded, “Teacher, when you say these things, you are insulting us too.”

Jesus said, “How terrible for you legal experts too! You load people down with impossible burdens and you refuse to lift a single finger to help them.

“How terrible for you! You built memorials to the prophets, whom your ancestors killed. In this way, you testify that you approve of your ancestors’ deeds. They killed the prophets, and you build memorials! Therefore, God’s wisdom has said, ‘I will send prophets and apostles to them and they will harass and kill some of them.’ As a result, this generation will be charged with the murder of all the prophets since the beginning of time. This includes the murder of every prophet—from Abel to Zechariah—who was killed between the altar and the holy place. Yes, I’m telling you, this generation will be charged with it.

“How terrible for you legal experts! You snatched away the key of knowledge. You didn’t enter yourselves, and you stood in the way of those who were entering.”

As he left there, the legal experts and Pharisees began to resent him deeply and to ask him pointed questions about many things. They plotted against him, trying to trap him in his words.

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticleThe Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain:Because of our God’s deep compassion, the dawn from heaven will break upon us.

Bless the Lord God of Israelbecause he has come to help and has delivered his people.He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.He has brought salvation from our enemiesand from the power of all those who hate us.He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,and remembered his holy covenant,the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.He has granted that we would be rescuedfrom the power of our enemiesso that we could serve him without fear,in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,for as long as we live.You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.You will tell his people how to be savedthrough the forgiveness of their sins.Because of our God’s deep compassion,the dawn from heaven will break upon us,to give light to those who are sitting in darknessand in the shadow of death,to guide us on the path of peace.”

Luke 1:68-79

Glory to the Father and to the Sonand to the Holy Spirit;as it was in the beginning is nowand will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:Because of our God’s deep compassion, the dawn from heaven will break upon us.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,born of the Virgin Mary,suffered under Pontius Pilate,was crucified, died, and was buried;he descended to the dead.On the third day he rose again;he ascended into heaven,is seated at the right hand of the Father,and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,the holy catholic church,the communion of saints,the forgiveness of sins,the resurrection of the body,and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers are offeredfor the day and its tasksfor the world and its needsfor the Church and her life

Response

Lord of lifeIn your mercy, hear us.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty and everlasting God,you have given us your servants grace,by the confession of a true faith,to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinityand in the power of the divine majesty to worship the Unity:keep us steadfast in this faith,that we may evermore be defended from all adversities;through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,who is alive and reigns with you,in the unity of the Holy Spirit,one God, now and forever. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,hallowed be your name,your kingdom come,your will be done,on earth as in heaven.Give us today our daily bread.Forgive us our sinsas we forgive those who sin against us.Lead us not into temptationbut deliver us from evil.For the kingdom, the power,and the glory are yoursnow and forever.Amen.

Conclusion

The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.Amen.